Italy kick up fourth win

BERLIN: Italy let France do nearly anything they wanted yesterday, except win the World Cup.

Outplayed for an hour and into extra time, the Italians won 5-3 in a penalty shootout after France captain Zinedine Zidane was ejected in the 110th minute for a vicious butt to the chest of Marco Materazzi. It was the ugliest act of a tournament that set records for yellow and red cards, diving and, at times, outright brutality.

And it was the last move for Zidane, who is retiring.

Without their leader for the shootout after the 1-1 draw, the French only missed once. But Italy, rarely strong in such situations, made all five. Fabio Grosso clinched the Azzurri’s fourth title, and his teammates had to chase him halfway across the field to celebrate.

Only Brazil has more World Cups with five.

“It’s incredibly emotional, words can hardly describe it,” Grosso said. “Maybe we still don’t realise what we have achieved. We really wanted to win and in the end we made it.”

Until now, no team since the last Azzurri champions in 1982 had to endure the stress and anguish of a scandal. Rather than be disrupted by the current probe ripping apart the national sport back home, the Italians survived.

The French controlled the flow of play, only to fail to finish through 120 minutes. Their only goal, Zidane’s penalty kick in the seventh minute, was the lone score by an Italy opponent in seven games.

“I’ve won many championships, many scudetti (Italian league titles), but a joy so big I have never felt,” Italy coach Marcello Lippi said. “It is the greatest joy, absolutely.”

The Italians put the ball into the net 12 minutes after Zidane on Materazzi’s header off a corner kick. And then they held on in a game marked by sloppiness and venom.

This was hardly artistic on either side, and rarely did Italy threaten over the final 75 minutes. But the Azzurri ignored recent history — they lost a quarter-final shootout to France in 1998, when Les Bleus went on to their only championship.

Andrea Pirlo, Materazzi, Daniele De Rossi and Alessandro Del Piero all easily beat France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez in the shootout. The difference was the miss by rarely used David Trezeguet, which hit the crossbar on France’s second attempt.

“This is part of soccer. I placed it well and afterward it is the bad luck of the game,” Trezeguet said.

When Grosso connected with his left foot, the sliver of Italian fans in the opposite corner of Olympic Stadium finally could let out their breath — and screams of victory.

On the trophy stand, amid hugs and slaps on the back, Materazzi placed a red, white and green top hat on the Jules Rimet Trophy. Captain Fabio Cannavaro then held it high as cameras flashed everywhere. An impromptu Tarantella by the players followed as silver confetti fluttered around them. It was, by far, the prettiest sight of the night.

With a 25-game unbeaten streak dating back nearly two years, the Italians added this title to their championships in 1934, 1938 and ’82 — when another match-fixing investigation plagued Serie A.

Gianluigi Buffon made the save of the final match in the 104th minute as the ever-dangerous Zidane fed Willy Sagnol on the wing and then slipped into the area. Sagnol’s cross was headed into the top of the net with the Italian keeper soaring high to knock it over.

By then, the sea of blue supporters for both teams seemed as exhausted as the players.

The crowd let out a short gasp, and then it was back to the tense and tentative action.

Zidane used his head again in the 110th for a nasty foul, a butt directly into the chest of Materazzi, earning the France captain a red card.

For the remainder of extra time, the fans whistled their displeasure.

Both sides played nervous, sloppy football for 120 minutes, hardly befitting a World Cup final. There were far more mistakes than inspiration.